Cognitive profiles for early diagnosis of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) have been described in a new study, published today in Alzheimer’s and dementia. Although DLB is the second most common neurodegenerative dementia after Alzheimer’s disease, it is commonly misdiagnosed, preventing affected individuals from accessing care better tailored to their prognosis.
“There are criteria to better identify DLB in research settings, but we wanted to bring together research studies to establish something applicable to clinical settings,” says Ece Bayram, MD, PhD, assistant professor of neurology at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. and studies main author. “By pooling information from the available literature, we were able to establish a cognitive profile that can differentiate MCI from Alzheimer’s before the dementia stage reaches, which could help better inform the direction of care for people with these diseases.”
Researchers were able to identify consistency in cognitive symptoms among people with MCI compared to people with Alzheimer’s in a meta-analysis of pre-dementia diagnoses. In the pre-dementia stage, people with DLB demonstrated decreased attention, processing speed, and executive function, as well as better memory and immediate recall compared to people with Alzheimer’s.
“The identification of cognitive profiles gave us the necessary result to suggest guidelines in which professionals could easily train themselves to better adapt care plans,” says Bayram. “In addition, providing a framework for clinical assessment versus biomarker testing means greater accessibility for professionals. It is easier and cheaper to train to perform cognitive assessments than to administer invasive imaging or biomarker testing,” Bayram says.
Researchers say that identifying the form of dementia early can guide future planning for both the person with dementia and their caregivers, and alleviate the disease by providing appropriate symptomatic treatment. People with MCI, for example, react to certain types of medications commonly prescribed for psychosis, such as haloperidol, which tend to worsen their condition. Dr. Bayram says that overall, this study provides a promising step to advance dementia prevention and care.
“We are seeing more and more treatment trials that focus on disease modification for both Alzheimer’s and Lewy body diseases. Having validated clinical criteria to diagnose MCI before dementia sets in means we can prevent it.” happen rather than reacting to it after a significant loss over time. brain has happened. “These types of clinical assessments provide opportunities for everyone to receive care even without access to a specialized facility.”